It Started With Starvation
by rwbybomb21
Summary: When the world provides filled pockets and bloated wallets, Ruby jumps on the chance to relieve the cash that they fill. When it lands her in a place she despises, simply for the sake of her long-thought-vanished friend, her life is changed.
1. Chapter 1

It was just a cookie, she figured.

A small baked confectionary good that was left out by someone who'd turned their backs to it. Chocolate chip, baked to what seemed to be perfection, and the _smell_! It just solidified that whoever had left that cookie out clearly didn't want it. This cookie had many different things to do- like be digested in her belly- not sit there uneaten, looking so sad and lonely!

Well, that's all her four-year-old mind could come up with to justify what she did next. Reaching down, her face set with grim determination, Ruby's finger's clutched themselves around the cookie's base and dragged it to her red hoodie's left pocket. She'd been told my numerous people from all over- her parents included- that stealing, lying, cheating and fighting were all things little girls as sweet as herself did not commit.

She wasn't sweet- she'd lied and fought and cheated before, and she was only four, and in her young and naïve mind, yet not as innocent as one her age should be, she felt that completing that list would make her happy to have finally accomplished something. Every day she felt the growing feeling of uselessness, of having childhood snatched away from you because you were a little too smart for your age and could see things no other children could see, no other children could hear the things she heard, no other children could feel the things she felt.

Looking around cautiously her eyes trailed left and right, nervousness breaking through the determined façade she'd upheld not two seconds ago; stealing that cookie just then had left her with a feeling of…well, she didn't know what it was, but she liked the feeling and she wanted to feel it more often. Before stealing it she was simply a four-year-old girl that, unknown to her parents and older sister, was a fighter, liar, and cheater. Now that she could add thief to that list, she felt oddly satisfied, as though the missing link had been hollowing her out, and now that it wasn't so missing anymore she could finally be herself instead of hiding form her parents.

Her eyes found her sister, who was sitting in some sort of play area at the local park just a couple of steps away from her, and she determined that Yang didn't need to know just yet. That innocent little image she'd grown up with would stay that way for as long as she could hide it- her sister meant well, but Ruby knew that some people who meant well didn't always do well.

It made sense to her, anyway.

(^^^^^^)

Running with her face to the wind, her eyes wide in excitement, Ruby turned her head back and stuck her tongue out at her chaser.

A cop. An officer of the law sworn to uphold the rules at which a society lived by. A peacekeeper who followed each and every rule by the book, no exceptions made and no quarter given. A man or woman who should show no prejudice, no bias, no favouritism and certainly no racial resentment. They had to keep the law on their sides, and pass it over to everyone else; they had to make sure that while the law was upheld, others made sure that they upheld the law as well. Officers such as the one behind her, however, deserved to be stolen from- considering he'd stolen the two thousand Lien she was grasping in her hands from a Faunus child who was barely older than five or six, she felt justified. Not justified to give the child his money back- no, because Ruby operated on the strict policy of 'what's yours when I see it will be mine when I want it'.

"HALT! Stop!"

She had no intention of doing that, so she turned her way through the empty streets of Patch and dove into a cardboard box tidied away in a corner, the officer running past her not a second later. If she'd been a little bit slower she would have been caught.

Good job she was always fast.

Waiting until the cop's footsteps faded into the distance, him still trying in vain to find the girl that had the power now to get him fired and possibly locked up, she released a breath she hadn't noticed she was holding. She now had the money to help support her sister for a whole two months! This was amazing! Sure, her parents' deaths had been a setback in her thievery hobby for at least a year, and in that time they'd been through more foster homes than a born-and-bred orphan, but hey…they had survived this far.

Yang would never admit it, of course, but she knew Ruby was the one bringing in their money while Yang was the one spending it on food and clothing- for herself of course, because despite Ruby being heartless and a thief she'd always let her spoils be used by Yang as the blonde pleased. Ruby always only gave her a quarter of her 'hard-earned' money anyway, so there was nothing to truly be upset about.

Standing from the box, brushing her shoulder mockingly of dust that wasn't there, she smirked; these cops were all fat, slow, lazy and complacent- upholding the law was the last thing they wanted to do, the first being rob the poor to feed their bloated, doughnut-filled stomachs. Turning on her heels, she strutted almost casually out of the alleyway and faded into the darkness of the street- not a single camera had caught sight of her, the cop hadn't seen her face…a perfect pickpocketing session.

(^^^^^^)

She was fifteen now.

Lean muscles built from running far and fast, practically created for the sole purpose of running and powering past, not through, obstacles. Her arms were as lean as her legs, but not quite as powerful- she was used to pickpocketing and incapacitation through pressure points, not holding swords as point to a throat and demanding money, or swinging around axes the size of a two story building. Her arms were littered with scars from when dogs had been sent after her, or when she'd stumbled into abandoned factories only to find hordes of Grimm. There was that one time she found a secret White Fang base, but hey, she walked away with a few scars but a hefty profit of fifty thousand Lien directly from the White Fang's safes. No matter your look on it she called that a 'win'.

Her hands were wrapped in blindingly white surgical bindings, a reminder of her last job that was successful but had too many hiccups for her liking- being a one-woman heist team had its benefits, but disadvantages. One of those being that you had no one to watch your back. Advantage to counter that? No one to stab your back either. Beneath the wrappings were burn scars, covering from the top of her wrist to mid-way down her middle finger on the left hand. The right hand was decidedly worse, though that was her personal assessment of the subject regarding aesthetics. Performance wise her hands were normal- the only issue she truly had was that they were now irreversibly scarred, no longer soft and instead hardened and calloused. No longer milky white and instead a shade of light red.

Covering her upper body was nothing more than what could be called a dark red, rather heavy looking, turtleneck, covering from just beneath her chin and extended down to just past her waist. Covering that piece of clothing was an unzipped, black hooded jacket- nothing too high end, no fancy leather or suede of any sort. It was simple cotton, and while not the best for heists, she refused to wear anything else. Besides, when sneaking into a place to case it at night, the jacket when zipped up proved reliable at keeping her hidden.

Wrapped around her legs in a way that screamed practicality and proved that her fashion sense was one-part looks, one-part usefulness, was a pair of dark grey jeans- she'd have worn something else for today, but she had something important to do and rushed out with what she had on hand- that just so happened to be her last night's heist clothing, but she wasn't complaining. With light-looking black and red trainers on her feet, black socks that reached her knees beneath the jeans and a black baseball cap on her head with the logo for Spruce Willis' latest film on the front, she left her shared house with Yang and practically sprinted out.

The reason she was in such a rush? She'd heard Roman Torchwick wanted to hold-up the small Dust shop down the road Dust 'til Dawn, and while she liked the old shopkeeper as much as anyone else, that shop had been on her list of 'places for easy Dust'. She would have let Roman have the place if she knew he'd share the spoils with her- she badly needed the Ice Dust- but Roman does nothing but take and never give. He's selfish even by thief standards, and if you worked with him on a heist at the first opportunity he got he'd turn you in to the police if it meant walking away scot-free.

Again, the reason she was in a rush? She was late- _extremely_ late. She needed that Ice Dust to soothe her hands and Roman had reportedly, as her source claimed, wanted to go after the place _tonight_. The issue in that was…she'd just woken up.

At 7PM.

…this wasn't good. But she could improvise! The only thing she truly needed the place for anyway was a jar of refined Ice Dust; her weapon- singular, as in only one- relied on no Dust whatsoever, her household items running from the older, lesser used gasoline than the common Dust-run generators for electricity. She needed that Ice Dust, badly, and what better way than to…ugh, she hated it but it was needed…bargain.

Abusing her already broken semblance of speed to match a bullet train's, she made it just in time to see Roman and a gang of Junior's men- she briefly wandered why Junior would ever hire them out to Roman of all people- stalking their ways towards the shop.

If there was ever a chance at negotiation, this would be it.

Blinking into existence in front of Roman caused the other men around to her simply nod- as though this was an everyday occurrence, what with her being a regular to Junior and all. Roman, however, had no idea who she was. But being the gentleman thief he is, let her spoke before blasting her sky high. The clothing and facial shape looked familiar, but because of the cap on her head and the darkness around them, she was nothing more than a pale silhouette.

"So Junior was right, you're here." Ruby mused to herself- it was always under the assumption that Junior was _always_ right, because he'd never led her astray before and always benefitted from her perfected heists anyway, so giving her false information was detrimental to both their partnership and his share of the profits. "Before you case the place, I need to ask you something."

…well, she was straightforward, at least- Roman could hand her that. She seemed to be completely at ease though, completely surrounded by Junior's hired men doing nothing but showing that she was familiar with them in the very least. She was fast as well, able to completely fade in and out of his vision before he would even catch a glimpse of her.

She interested him, so he at least wanted to hear her out- besides, if she was a cop or a Huntress she'd have gone for the more forward method of 'shoot until dead', so that assuaged some of his fears.

"Junior told me you were going for this place- the issue with that is…well, I've been planning a heist on this place since- well that's hardly important." She'd cut herself off from telling him that she'd only just planned this yesterday after her bad, but not failed, heist. She needed that damn Ice Dust! "Look, I only need one thing from here anyway."

"Just one? You're a pro, aren't you?" He'd seen the way her head had looked him up and down- and he knew she'd done it on purpose too, to show that she knew what she was doing. He still doubted her though; she looked barely older than sixteen! At her nod he continued, tone snarky and sarcastic. "Then why, _oh why_ , would you need to _ask_ me, when you could just steal what you want later?"

Ruby blinked at that, before softly chuckling- this man was supposedly a pro, but knew nothing on how pros operated. She was just fifteen and she knew more than he did! Well, she supposed being the lapdog of Cinder Fall really makes one put their morality behind them, so she could hardly fault him. He obviously didn't find it amusing, flicking the cigar in his mouth away with a short spit to remove the tobacco from his breath; he was getting tired of this.

"Look, I only need _one_ thing; that's not really worth the trouble of breaking numerous unsaid codes just to get, but while it would make my life easier I figured diplomacy would do just as well." Her explanation wasn't too far from the truth; but she needed that Dust, her hands were chafing badly and the skin was practically on fire at this point. She could have used some sort of balm to soothe it like in the days where Dust wasn't all that known for its cooling properties, but felt this to be the easier and quicker route- what a joke. Oh well, she still needed to pay Junior for his info. She hoped he'd let her have a discount this time though.

Lifting an orange eyebrow, Roman looked…intrigued. Was this man bipolar or something? He looked ready to beat her to death, then looked bored, and now intrigued? Shaking her head, Ruby forged onwards. "I need Ice Dust." A pause, then " _Badly_ need it."

"Whatever could you need the Dust for? And how much?"

Wordlessly she lifted her bandage-covered hands to eye-level, the street lights surrounding them allowing Roman to just make out that her hands were, in fact, wrapped. He knew what that meant, too- most thieves out on the streets didn't have access to aura but her little trick of appearing out of nowhere said otherwise. He briefly questioned why her aura wasn't healing it for her, but then shrugged it off- wasn't his business anyway.

"Burns…?"

"Yeah; so bad that my aura's taking its sweet ass time to heal it, too." She muttered some curse words that would have made a sailor proud before looking more directly at Roman. "Look, I need the Dust; you need someone that's fast to get in and out to take stock of the place- cameras, security measures, panic buttons."

"I think I know where you're going with this…"

"And we both know what the answer's gonna be."

Roman looked at her as if just looking at her now- he _truly_ looked, and he saw something he liked. She was a pro through and through, and she was obviously not new to negotiating to get her way. He'd give her that, she was smart and, the way she held herself, dangerous. A girl after his own heart…if only she didn't look so young. Neo looked young, don't get him wrong, but she was…well… _actually_ an adult- and this girl didn't even sound like one yet; which further proved to him that she'd been refining the art of stealing to the point she was at now. She was right anyway- these men he hired were for muscle, not thieving. He hadn't the forethought to scope the place as thoroughly as possible simply because, well…this was an old man manning the Dust shop. One old man- and clearly the girl in front of him felt the need to look before leaping. A true pro, he had to admit, and Roman had been doing this close to twenty years so he knew a veteran in the field when he saw one. You didn't need to be old to be wise in the game of thievery and robbery- you needed wits, sure, and you needed experience; something the girl in front of him seemingly had in spades.

Plus, he'd been feeling something wrong with tonight- as though the girl in front of him was the deciding factor towards perfection or failure.

And Cinder didn't like failure, so he'd take what he could get.

"Only Ice Dust huh…? You got a deal…uh…"

"Names aren't important; but if you _must_ call me something, do it fast." She turned on her heels, zipping towards the shop in the blink of an eye and disappearing through the doors before he even had a chance to reply. She was definitely a pro- no novice he'd met had never denied him their names, and him giving a nickname meant they'd probably never see each other again.

Turning to his men, he nodded towards the shop wordlessly- those that had worked with Ruby before had the faintest idea of what the nod meant, and so they all shuffled towards the shop quietly.

The girl was true to her word; in and out in less than a minute, no alarms tripped, no one alerted to her presence, not even a wisp of wind as she sped to and from the shop.

Roman whistled in appreciation for a thief that actually knew how to keep words; he could do that of course, but preferred muscling his way through than stealth and negotiation; a whisper in his head told him that the girl could easily be silenced here and now to protect the fact that he was ever here in the first place, but for some reason he held off. This girl was acquainted with Junior, and it wouldn't do to have the big bear of a man angry at him- bad for business. Besides, he'd made a promise, and while a thief and a liar he was, he didn't break promises. Emerald, Cinder's little pet- he preferred to call her that to reassure himself that she wasn't better than him- couldn't have even done this job as silently as the girl in front of him had.

She'd done a bang up job of scoping the place out, had performed perfectly even by his high as shit standards, and had even managed to grab some of the Ice Dust included in their deal so he didn't have to go out of his way. The girl was perfect. He also knew, somehow, that she'd never work for Cinder like he did just to be partnered to him- she was right to be that way too. Cinder Fall was, in a word…evil.

She'd wordlessly blinked besides him, left hand gently holding three vials of ice Dust with the right gripping a jar of Dust the size of his head beneath her armpit. He didn't bother turning to see her properly regardless of his curiosity towards her appearance; he could respect someone that worked as well as she did enough to value their privacy. He stared at the shop in front of him, waiting for her to catch her breath and report her findings to him.

After a minute, she spoke, and he was given more than he could have asked for. "Two security cameras, both taken down now. An alarm system, but I deactivated it. No panic buttons but he did have a safe in the back if you wanted that, but I'd be careful with that- it's got Schnee Dust Co's handprints all over it, so it's bound to have some weird ass security measures." Then before he could turn to her, congratulate her because, honestly- he wasn't expecting all of that.

She'd vanished.

(^^^^^^)

She only had the time to slather some Ice Dust onto her scarred hands and re-wrap the bandages before shit went south; fast. Thankfully she'd stowed the rest of the Dust, jar included, away on her person- she had pockets in that jacket and those jeans, after all. Thankfully the jar could be emptied into the now-empty vials of Dust, and whatever was left over she threw to the side. It wasn't of any use to her anymore anyway.

A Huntress.

Why, oh why, was a Huntress in front of her? No, better question; where the _fuck_ did she come from!? Ruby was the most observant person she knew, and yet her eagle-like eyes coloured silver couldn't even spot this woman? She'd been slipping, and mentally she slapped herself. But now she knew better- she wasn't going to make the same mistake again.

She never had repeated the past before after all, she wasn't going to start now.

Ruby wasn't going to describe the woman in front of her in any other word than stern. She had some form of permanent scowl on her face; something like that, someone like that, obviously hadn't got laid yet. Had Ruby? Oh yes, many, _many_ times, all women and all of them, compared to her, inexperienced. But had this woman? By the scowl and stiff back, she'd say no.

In her hand was a…riding crop? An odd choice of weaponry for a Huntress but interesting- did she use it as a conductor's baton or something? If so, then that was kind of cool, but if she had an inkling to a thought of what the woman conducted…Ruby might be in for a bad time here. Overall from her outfit she'd guess she was a teacher, professor, and the glasses were a dead giveaway to the fact that the woman looked to be the 'stern teacher than many fantasize about but never had the chance of ever getting'. And the only Hunting schools she knew of around here were Signal and Beacon- with Signal being nothing but a novice's crash-course of Hunting while Beacon was a step up. If her assumption was correct then this woman worked at Beacon.

Yeah, Ruby was in for a _very_ bad time.

"Ruby Rose, by order of Headmaster Ozpin you are to be detained immediately!"

…and she knew her name… _great_. Yeah, Ruby could have just used her semblance and zipped away before she could get caught- as she had so many other times before whenever a Hunter of Huntress got involved- but thing is she was tired. Her muscles were screaming at her in protest due to lack of sufficient sleep, her eyes had been droopy and tired the entire day, and she just finished a semi-perfect job.

For lack of better wording; she was tired as fuck and needed to get home before Yang got suspicious. So, building her energy and aura and throwing her torpidity to the wind, Ruby pushed her semblance to its limit and vanished from sight. She could practically feel the frustration coming from the Huntress, but of course Ruby cared less.

By the time she made it home she was barely through the door before collapsing on their shared couch and sleeping like the dead.

(^^^^^^)

Looking at the damp ceiling of the interrogation room she'd found herself in, Ruby groaned. She'd found herself in here when she woke up, hands chained to a metal table with her feet chained to the ground- well, at least they'd learned her semblance. Can't use speed if you can't use your feet now can you? Smart, she figured, but there were other ways out of here- seduction, shooting her way out, a whole string of possible escape options that she was neither above doing nor unwilling to do.

Those ways out vanished immediately when she realised that she was being stared at. The man staring was middle-aged and grey-haired, his silver eyebrows raised slightly in question- to what she didn't know, and quite honestly didn't care either. She knew who he was; the ugly green jacket that he wore and the cane he held onto as if his life depended on it told her his identity as much as a news report could. This man was Headmaster Ozpin; Ruby's gut dropped. She knows why he's here, and she'll fight him all the way- no way is she _ever_ going somewhere as prissy and pathetic as Beacon. While it was her sister's dream to be a Huntress, Ruby's was just to survive, to live in the harsh world she'd allowed herself to be a part of. Survival for her meant scraping by and toughening up to the world around her lest she become numb to it all and only see what she wanted to see- that was not survival, that was acquiescence. That was someone agreeing that the world was a terrible place and locking themselves away in a fantasy world that promised a false hope of freedom and integrity- the real world was something only Ruby could see it seems; well, Ruby and a select few that she couldn't think of because she'd done everything possible to avoid getting close to people. Except for one, of course, but she was half way across the globe by now, living it up in a city surrounded by four walls and security tighter than a nun's crack.

"Ruby Rose." His voice was plaintive, as though he wasn't speaking to a wanted criminal- granted not many even knew her name, and only had vague descriptions, but that heist that went wrong but right at the same time, resulting in her burnt hands, was probably what got people onto her. She'd gone unnoticed until two days ago after all; so she assumed that it was said heist. Speaking of, she forgot to give Junior his cut for the info- she hoped he'd be up for talking instead of demanding, her head hurts.

Maybe she'd go visit the Twins for their shared hospitality of bringing in different opinions to the same conversation- she'd get to watch them duke it out over who was right and who was wrong, they'd share a drink to make up for the noise they usually would make, and then they'd all go to sleep with little smiles on their faces. Oh how she longed to be at The Club, but alas, here she was in jail. Ah, the quips Melanie would make while Militia sat back and shot down her every opportunity to refute the claims of her losing her touch; oh well, she'd get to do that once she got out of here. But first things first…

"Ozpin." Her voice had always been that rough, but today she had attempted to soften it as to not seen standoffish. She'd clasped her hands in front of her and donned her most serious face as well; this was time for her professional side to shine- the thief side of her could show later. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

In response Ozpin lifted an eyebrow. "Pleasure?"

Ruby nodded, her short hair bobbing slightly but otherwise doing nothing else. "Yes; professionalism when dealing with new factors is key."

He sipped from a coffee cup he'd gotten from…somewhere, and looked Ruby in the eye for a full half-minute. He seemed to spot something, because he grinned slightly- and whatever that something his eye had been caught by, Ruby just knew it wasn't going to go in her favour. "True; but in this case I just want to talk."

Ruby's professional mask slipped for a mere second as she stared at him, before her gaze hardened to a point it made Ozpin wince inside; no child should have that look. The look of knowing exactly what you talk about; experience was one hell of a mentor after all. "As do all people who steal me away from my bed in the dead of night and chain me to surfaces."

Glynda coughed awkwardly to the side of her while Ozpin sipped his coffee slow and long, clearly thinking about something. Ruby was sitting there, however, with a grin on her face- sarcastic quips were her forte after all, but she had to admit that Yang was better at the whole 'making sarcastic comments and shitty puns is my life goal'. Yeah, sure, Ruby could pull off two or three good ones before they became admittedly cringe-worthy and stale, and puns weren't her favourite things to do, but when the situation arose she could challenge her sister to a sarcastic standoff and possibly-maybe-hopefully-doubtfully win it. Okay, against Yang she hadn't a snowball's chance in hell of winning, but the point was that she grew up around the rather big-chested blonde- she knew her stuff.

"I wish to offer you something, Miss Rose. A gesture of goodwill, a favour, whatever you seem well-adjusted to calling such things."

Ruby, in response to Ozpin's rather sudden answer to the unanswered question of what it was beyond a talk that he wanted, lifted a rather immaculate left eyebrow. The man was no wordsmith when confronted directly, she noted, but he was also enigmatic and that could be a real issue- while, yes, she had the ability to read between blurred lines so to speak, she was not capable of discovering hidden meanings within those lines. She leaned back from her assessment of his sentence, and sighed heavily. Arms crossed just below her average-sized bust, her serious gaze shifting into a frown. "You want something in return." No question, a statement, and a correct one if the stiffening of Glynda's shoulders was any indication.

Yet Ozpin remained stoic with that small, hardly-noticeable yet extremely obvious smirk; the man was an oxymoron of being able to smirk with it meaning nothing, with showing happiness or glee in a situation where it warranted no such feelings and he didn't truly feel them anyway, merely showing them as one would wear a mask. An enigma, one that made Ruby's head spin trying to figure out- so she left well enough alone. This cell was suffocating anyway, might as well wrap this up. "Of course." After that he sipped his coffee, as though he hadn't just admitted to potentially blackmailing her with what she suspected to be a bum deal that went more in his favour than hers.

"Your deal?"

"Beacon."

"And I get what from it…?"

At that he seemed to stare at her, as though just remembering that she was a thief first and person second- she'd raised herself as such and in such a way so that her morals didn't get in the way of her 'much needed' thieving. But thankfully he'd prepared such an instance.

He looked at Glynda out of the corner of his eye, and while she walked up to Ruby and offered her the scroll in her hands after swiping her fingers across the surface and finding the right file, he explained what it was.

"Four years at Beacon Academy, and in return…" He gestured to the tablet in her hands, of which she eyed speculatively. Then, urging her to scroll down, she'd evidently found her 'part of the deal' so to speak, along with incentive. "…We wipe your record- this arrest never happened. And you get-"

He didn't even finish when she gave a clipped "deal" and abruptly left the cell in a shower of petals with scroll in hand, amazing Glynda in how she'd picked the locks without her hands visibly moving.

Ozpin sipped his coffee; that incentive must have been something really enticing for Ruby to leave like that. He understood that she valued professionalism over anything else. Even he didn't know what it was- only Glynda and Ironwood.

Oh well, he mused, sipping his coffee once more; he'd find out later.

(^^^^^^)

A pace set between hurried and professional, Ruby practically prowled through the dark streets of Vale, eyes glued to the scroll she'd been reading for an hour straight- how did they get so much info on her? How? She'd made sure to hide the footsteps, the bodies, the operations she joined on and the gifts she left. She'd made sure to help her as well. Definitely her White Fang roots- those were buried beneath red tape, black tape, bodies, blood and other assortments of things no one should go digging through.

So how in the _fuck-mothering dick-tarding hell_ did they find her? They shouldn't have, Ruby had made sure to help her cover her tracks the best they both could with limited resources and funding- the girl had left the goddamn country and vowed to never return for fuck's sake! Atlas, while militaristic, was a place you could easily get lost in- streets that wound on and on, numerous places that hired without I.D and multiple other things that made Atlas both the safest and most dangerous place to hide. With over fifty million people, five hundred thousand conscripted soldiers- including the Atlesian Knights they'd created- and merchants coming in and out every day, she should have remained hidden forever- would have. She was sneaky like that; always knew where to hide and how, where to steal and when, how to steal and why. Knew everything. Ruby knew what she was like- she was a damn shadow when she didn't want to be seen, when her very instincts told her to blend in and take cover.

And now, away from her relative safety in Atlas that Ruby had helped her get to after the train job, she was _here_ , of _all places_.

"Why, Blake; how did Beacon get you?" Her mutterings continued as she made her way to her apartment through muscle memory alone- she'd need sleep if she was to reach the airship tomorrow for Beacon. "You know how and where to hide; I've shown you how to steal effectively…how?"

Then, her eyes found a particular statement from Atlesian Military Police that caught her attention, and regret came to her- the info she had on Atlas when she had sent Blake away was three, maybe four years older than it should have been. The newest models of the A.K were unknown to her, the military standpoint that many had was vaguely known, the political debates and goings-on within the country unknown to both of them. She'd sent Blake in and told her to rely on stealth and subterfuge.

Ruby winced in shame and guilt- Blake had been caught the second she stepped through the gates, so to speak. Well, it was more a literal term, actually; Blake had been on CCTV cameras since her arrival in Atlas borders, never mind Atlas itself. She was scanned, x-rayed, cleared and re-cleared five times in total, and had five hundred thousand sets of eyes pinned on her the moment it all began. As soon as she set foot within the city itself…well, the rest spoke for itself- she wouldn't be surprised if Blake thought it was a set-up, felt betrayed even.

Tracing the mug-shot they'd gotten of the black haired amber eyed girl with her thumb, Ruby winced in shame and guilt once more, both emotions hitting her hard today. Absently she traced the ebony-haired girl's bow, then her nose, lips, cheeks, before reaching her forehead. Ruby sighed once more, regret tinging her whispered voice. "I'm so sorry- I should have done more for you." Her information skills were never the best, but she'd really tried that day- obviously not hard enough it seems. "I should have tried harder."

She reached her apartment, dingy and damp with cobwebs forming above the front door and rubbish littering the hallways leading up to it- she noted that someone had drawn some neat looking graffiti of a two headed King Taijutu swallowing a beowolf next to her door. Sighing, she opened her door, wincing at the creak and groan of dying wood and rusted hinges that she'd been meaning to oil but never truly got around to.

She slept that night dreaming of amber, tuna, a cat and the moon.


	2. Chapter 2

The ride to Beacon was long, she mused. Unnecessarily so, even. No one needed this much time to prepare themselves for future hunting, right? She spent the last four hours of the ride doing just that, though, so she can't really say anything.

Okay, she was completely lying on that, she had no interest hunting at all. In fact, the only reason she'd ever agreed to join this academy instead of bolting out of that interrogation room was the offer- wiped record? A constant flow of info on Blake's wellbeing and whereabouts? It sounded good to her, but she'd admit she had jumped the metaphorical gun a bit. Forget about dodging bullets- that was for pansies. She lived for the thrill of the fight; Ozpin simply won the fight through non-negotiable terms, that's all. She'll keep telling herself that for the next four years to come, and everything will be A-Okay.

So, what did that leave her doing right now? Why, just everything that she'd always wanted to do, of course! I mean, who wouldn't want to get berated and shouted at over the scroll?

Sarcasm. Right now, though, Ruby was doing just that. Sat in a dark corner with her scroll on loudspeaker and her head held in the hand not being occupied by said scroll. The device was a gift, really- a black scroll, nothing too extravagant, with a small gemstone of near-useless quality inlaid at the centre of the back of it. When folded it was designed to look a little slimmer than the standard scrolls seen everywhere, and it had a little bit more functionality to it. Melanie had given it to her- the usually outspoken and brash girl, she remembered, had gone unusually soft and shy when handing it to her. Militia, on the other hand, was almost-always the source of shyness from the two, and she'd taken the time to tease Melanie about it. Though Ruby did note her voice always seemed a little softer when speaking to her.

Not right fucking now, it didn't!

"Are you serious, Ruby!? How in the fuck did you get snatched by _Ozpin_ of all people!?"

This question, she swears, had been asked a hundred times in the whole five minutes of this conversation; and Ruby had given the same answer over and over again. It was becoming stale, but they were worried, Ruby could see that. Hell, _she_ was worried about herself. The amount of stupidity she'd shown in this choice of hers made herself feel very stupid- if the action was stupid, and it made you feel stupid, you knew that right then you were stupid. Or, in the very least, you could pass it off as a bad day brought on through lack of good sleep, and the only sleep you _did_ get was from the solid-metal of a chair with arms and legs confined of freedom to move. In short, however, she'd just say she didn't get enough sleep and leave it at that.

While attempting not to sigh, because really she knew they were just looking out for her, Ruby turned to the accidental video chat she'd done- yeah, sure, it was great having it on loud speaker for _everyone on the damn ship to hear_ , but what was even better? Why, seeing your girlfriends'-but-not-quite-girlfriends' smug and angered, yet also worried, faces! Nothing better than it, she'd say…while smacking her head into a brick wall until she started giving said brick a new colouring of red.

"It's like I've said the other fifteen times you asked: Oz made a deal, it had Blake involved, and like the self-deprecating retarded moron I am, I accepted it without thinking it through."

Militia was sat there, one leg over the other with hands held to her chest in that clichéd 'worried about you' expression; for some reason it did weird things to Ruby's gut, made her feel bad but satisfied, so she focused on Melanie next. The girl had an indignant look about her, eyes furious but with gentle concern being masked well by the fury, arms held to her sides with balled up fists…yeah, they were aiming to make her feel guilty for worrying them, now, weren't they? Great.

"Ruby?"

"Hm?"

Militia unclasped her hands, holding them down onto her lap while she changed the position of her crossed legs. Her hands were being wrung, as though she was nervous, and Ruby knew enough about body language to know there was also embarrassment. From what it was exactly was what Ruby was wondering about, but it didn't take long before the answer presented itself in the form of a red face and two sets of sad yet hopeful eyes.

Melanie had shifted from looking angered and concerned to an odd mixture of worried, hopeful and loving- dare she say the last one for fear of 'getting soft'. Now that she noticed it, Ruby saw how ruffled the twins' hair was, and how messy their clothing was compared to what it was usually like; prim, proper, elegant, and she would die a happy woman when she said they were _sexy as fuck_. All of that made for a fatal combination that had men and women both coming up to them and 'propositioning', for lack of a better word, them both for either sex or a good relationship. Ruby had no idea why they were both saving themselves, but each day she spent with them the answer was getting clearer and clearer by the second. It made her feel…actually she doesn't know what it made her feel- but Ruby knew that they were both serious about it, and she could respect that by trying to take it seriously too.

"Is…is that date still on?"

Ruby removed her eyes form Melanie and looked Militia in the eyes; anything to indicate they weren't looking forward to it, anything to indicate they were just joking, _anything_. But as it turns out, she could find nothing more than hope, embarrassment, worry, and that little look of love that she's seen a couple of her marks give to their wives or husbands.

They were taking this seriously, and Ruby wouldn't lie by saying that they didn't interest her, so she'd take it seriously too.

"Yes, definitely; but it'll have to be another week that you girls will have to wait." Her face morphed from serious to apologetic in an instant, relaying just how sorry she truly was. Mentally though she ticked off her list of 'promises broken'. They were tallying in the fifties now. She noticed the feeling of hairs standing on end, and her breathing began to subconsciously quicken; turning left and right, she couldn't see anyone, but she _knew_ that she was being watched- no, that feeling she's still feeling went far beyond watching. She was being _observed_ , probed from afar, and she's felt this feeling before. When those coloured eyes she was so familiar with locked with her own when she returned from a heist-gone-well, or came home with more money than her supposed 'waitressing job' should allow.

Sighing, she turned to the girls on the scroll. "Sorry girls, gotta go now; call me 'round about nine tonight, yeah?"

After receiving her farewells from the twins, Ruby closed her scroll and sat up slowly while rotating eyes around rapidly, her head throbbing from the feeling of a distant headache undoubtedly about to come into play within her skull. Nevertheless, she spun around, hoping to find someone else…someone other than the person she suspected would be there.

Instead, she came face to face with the one person she was hoping would never notice her being here. Yang Xiao-Long.

"Uh…" of course, for all her intelligence- or, Ruby would argue, lack thereof- Yang simply stared, muttering that same thing over and over again. It was as though someone had thrown an EMP into her ears and it fried her brain good and proper- then again, Ruby had no need for EMPs, so she knew not if that was physically possible. Looking closer, as in below her eyes, Ruby noticed her sister's jaw just flapping there. Apparently she'd had enough of simply muttering 'uh' for the rest of the hour's trip, and stood there catching flies instead.

So being the generous sister she is, Ruby swung her hand up and clamped Yang's jaw closed, gently but firmly- hey, if she was bringing in the money for them to survive off of, she was damn-right taking liberties in who 'wore the pants', as people would say. While definitely not interested in _that_ kind of relationship because…well, Ruby didn't like that kind of thing…people would argue that she was the 'bossy, strict' younger sister and Yang was the 'loose, party-happy' older one.

As soon as Yang felt her jaw close not of its own volition, her brain caught up with the present and she stared at her slowly-becoming-annoyed sister with both disbelief and joy.

Ruby closed her mouth, covered her ears with both hands, turned around and bent her head slightly.

Any second now…

"RUBY!?"

The ear-splitting shriek of equal measures joy and shock being emitted by her sister lasted for a full five seconds, in which time the ship came to a slow descent and landed just outside the 'prestigious' academy Ruby was to spend four years of her life in. in those precious five seconds, Yang had done something Ruby never thought possible; she'd managed to clear the entire ship of human and Faunus life.

Surely a new record.

"R-Rubes!? I thought you didn't want to be a Huntress?" Of course, no 'hi sis, how've you been?'. Although to be fair…they _did_ only see each other just the other day, before this whole charade started in the first place. Still though, it did bother her that Yang would open with that statement, because she was completely correct with saying it. It was _Yang's_ dream to become a Huntress, a person who fought to keep the light burning brightly. It was _Yang's_ dream to battle back the ever-closing darkness that had completely surrounded the human and Faunus races since creation. It was _Yang's_ dream to be a huntress, and the older girl must be feeling some sort of betrayal; not in the sense of being stabbed in the back, but in the sense of being lied to, at least.

Running a hand down her face, Ruby looked at Yang with an intense expression of thought while Yang babbled on and on about how much she knew her sister would 'come around'…whatever that meant. To be honest, most of what Yang had said flew right in one ear and out the other. Not to say Ruby ignored her on purpose, it'd just been a long day and she had a feeling it would be a little longer.

"-I still haven't found Bumblebee though; I think they have her in a garage at Beacon or something." After Yang's rather long two-minute babbling session had finally ended, Ruby decided it was time to at least make it seem like she'd been paying attention. Sure her head throbbed and, yes, she did know Yang could tell she wasn't paying attention, but for the sake of convenience it was kinda needed.

Moving towards the exit of the Bullhead while simultaneously answering her, Ruby lead them both towards the- what seemed to be- courtyard of the place. Not that they had a choice to take in the sights. Too many people crowding around and nattering away at each other ruined any and all view she would have gotten. Yang hums in distaste as well; while she may be a fighter and a partier, Yang can appreciate a good view.

"I would say yes to that, but don't hold your breath."

Yang, in response, clutched a hand to her chest and whined pitifully. "B-But…my precious!"

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Deal with it. I told you not to get too attached but nooooo, you had to just buy it because, and I quote you here, 'it's yellow, and everybody loves yellow'."

This would have been a good view of a large gothic castle-like building straight out of some sort of Lovecraft-themed novel or other. Instead, they both got a face-full of crowding nondescript humans and Faunus both intermingling with each other, both being incessantly loud to the point of hurting Ruby's ears, and both wearing the most stupid type of clothing she'd ever seen. For god's sake she saw a girl wearing a onesie! What fucking use did a onesie have during battle!? Then she'd seen even worse types of clothing; ranging from skirts short enough that a slight breeze would show the world their underwear, to battle dresses long enough to hamper any form of athletic movement. Then came the weapons. Sure, she'd gotten over the petty fact that people moved on from the 'classics' as she called them to weapons that insisted on shifting beyond one form, but no one needed a fucking flame sword! How did they not injure themselves wielding it!?

Yang, spotting her sister's inevitable mental breakdown, decided to herd her towards a spot she'd found that contained nothing but suitcases- but no one there for them. Perhaps, she mused as she pushed her fuming sister towards the space, they all belonged to one person? If so, then there was either a really rich person here, or there was just that many stupid people forgetting their suitcases. For some reason she was leaning towards the latter- while she wasn't the smartest she did have above average intelligence; came with the street smarts that Ruby had drilled into her admittedly thick skull. It's honestly not even her fault! I mean, what Yang really should have been questioning was "How in the hell does my little sister seem to be more successful in bringing in money, Dust, clothing and who knows what else while all I do is fight at bars?", but then she remembered Ruby's supposed well-paying day job, and wiped the question from her mind.

Ruby, however, was simply burning with rage at the stupidity of the masses. Why did she agree to this again? Why did she risk her life for Dust to soothe her hands only to be captured, interrogated and pretty much bribed into coming to a school filled with people that trained to be her very antithesis?

Then, her hands went into her pocket and touched a black and red ribbon- oh, that's why. Of course it was all for Blake, the only person in the world she'd dare to call a friend. Besides her sister of course, but you couldn't really be friends with family members you've been lying to. Ruby and Blake never did leave anything out of conversations, never did hide things. If one was in pain the other would come to soothe it, if one needed something the other would have it. She remembered the embarrassing moment of them both thinking they were in love with the other, making out, then realising after a full two hours of mind-blowing sex that the feeling they felt was more familial than anything. It was one of the reasons that Blake and Ruby both couldn't even mention 'bed' and 'whiskey' in the same sentence. Of course after the embarrassment had worn off they both were closer than ever to each other- just…never in _that_ way again.

She remembered a lot by touching that simple piece of cloth, but it was enough for her anger to dissipate and her sadness to vanish. She was here for Blake- no one else, not even her sister. Just Blake. And that thought alone was enough to make the tension of being in a school filled with her supposed enemies disappear. She was a thief, and no amount of living on the 'light side' was enough to change her point of view. Four years of Hunting was nothing to eleven years of crime, thievery and general hatred of the justice system. Hunters and Huntresses, in her mind, were simply overpaid cops potentially even more corrupt with a side job of eliminating Grimm every once in a while.

Taking out her scroll, muttering noncommittal 'sure' and 'uhuh' every two minutes when her sister began explaining what Beacon was supposed to be like, Ruby looked at the picture of her one and only friend. She lifted a hand, tracing the picture's head, where the bow was.

She hoped Blake would skin her _after_ she'd explained herself. Of course, she'd rather not get skinned, but she deserved it. Her apparent betrayal would need a lot of ironing out anyway- then came the details, then the reasons, then the ethics…yeah, she'd better get planning her will and testament, and most likely her epitaph.

After a full two minutes of just staring at the image, Ruby realised the blabbering of her sister had stopped, and silence reigned; for once she was thankful for her sister's presence in a time like this. Then again, whenever her sister was silent it was always because of one of two things; she found something else to occupy her time, or she'd left the area. A small cursory scan had indeed revealed to her that Yang had left the area, and to her immense gratitude Ruby could hear her sister a little bit away walking off with some friends she'd quickly made. Yes, Yang was indeed a social butterfly that could latch onto one person and infest them with smiles and happiness, with a willingness to open up to her. Ruby on the other hand preferred her quiet, her books, her planning and her thievery.

Night and day had more similarities than those two, but Ruby supposed it was just the way things worked.

Sighing in despair and the odd feeling she got when her sister was gone- called satisfaction- Ruby unceremoniously slumped backwards, slamming into a bunch of crates that seemed a little too light to contain anything like clothing and weaponry.

' _Peace and quiet, finally_ '. By closing her eyes, she could just imagine the empty meadow with roses and nightshades and tulips and all other manner of flower that had no reason to co-exist but did anyway. She could just feel the gentle breeze and see the deep blue sky and smell the myriad scents of flowers in the air. Her little haven, her mindscape, her happy place; all words used to describe the deepest recesses of her mind- past the black and the shadows that made up her conscious thoughts, her subconscious was the exact opposite. It was a peaceful place that soothed her very soul of all immoral and unjust deeds she'd committed. This was her place to go when the world grew too dark for her to see in, or when her hands became too stained with blood, and her ears became filled with all manner of noise- from shouts to halt her movement, most likely from pursuing police, to cries of anguish, most definitely from an unlucky victim that had four kids and only enough money to feed three mouths.

The place in her head provided respite, peace, calm…

…Then white stung her vision, and that whole two seconds of peace and quiet was shattered.

"What do you think you're doing!?"


	3. Chapter 3

A meeting point in a dark, shaded part of the school wasn't at all creepy…or, at least, that's what new second year Velvet Scarlatina thought when she saw her team leader Coco Adel drinking from a cup of- ironically- hot chocolate whilst chatting silently with the gentle giant of their team, Yatsuhashi. Honestly the man was built like a concrete slab given human form and muscles bigger than a human's head. The sword he wielded was equally as ridiculous, what with it being the actual size of a human being but thinner than one…thankfully.

Coco still wore her beret-sunglasses combo, of which Velvet had to constantly ask how she managed to read and fight as well as she did with the shades blocking out light and the beret keeping her hair confined. The last was obvious to her, but the former, well…she couldn't get a handle on it to effectively pin down a reason. The most Velvet could come up with was that Coco's eyes were sensitive to light, or she just found them so stylish that she'd found a combat style that effectively worked around the disadvantage of wearing shades all the time.

Then there was Fox…actually, where _is_ Fox? He wasn't there at all, not speaking to Coco nor Yatsuhashi, and not lurking in a corner. If he truly was here he'd be hiding behind her ready to make her jump out of her skin, as he seemed so inclined to do whenever given the chance. A quick glance behind her, over her shoulder, proved that to be incorrect as well. Perhaps he was late to arriving at Beacon? Took a different form of transport? Oh well, wasn't her problem. She'd chastise him- albeit while stuttering and silently wishing she'd crawl into a ball and die- when he got back from wherever it was he took a sabbatical to.

"Velv!" Velvet, due to the interruption into her thoughts, jumped before looking back to Coco; Yatsuhashi's gentle smile grew slightly when he spotted her while Coco's trademarked teasing grin exploded outwards onto her face. Lifting her hand over her head, hot chocolate encased within the other, she waved Velvet over who gladly accepted lest they gather attention and, god forbid, that was the _last_ thing she wanted. So, she jogged her way over to her teammates, and one massive hug from Yatsuhashi that had both Velvet and Coco reeling and taking in deep breaths later they all got down to the reason Coco had asked them here.

"Fox dropped out."

…Velvet blinked. This was…news to her. Wouldn't Fox have let her know? Explained over scroll? He had her number, so why tell only Coco? The gentle giant of the trio spoke up and voiced her thoughts better than she could have, thankfully. "He…dropped out? With not a word to us first?"

Coco nodded, and by how she'd been avoiding their eyes she knew they were both understandably upset. Hell, she'd broken an entire wardrobe with just her fist when he told her over the scroll and gave some half-assed excuse that he was moving to Menagerie! As if the last year hadn't happened, as if they hadn't all grown together as friends, _family_ , would. Nope, he up, gave a shitty reason, left, and wasn't coming back.

Needless to say she was pissed beyond belief, but also confused as to why Fox hadn't let her teammates know as well. So she explained it all to them- including the wardrobe incident- and the reactions were an upset-looking Velvet with an unhappy-looking Yatsuhashi.

"So…if Fox left…what are we doing?"

Answering Velvet's question was a bit difficult for Coco, but nevertheless she pushed it forward through gritted teeth.

The answer surprised both thirds of the trio, and opened a new door to a future they hadn't even realised existed until now.

(^^^^^^)

Arslan Altan was not having the best of days- and this was concerning her personal opinion, never mind the opinion of the multiple voices murmuring the exact same thing she was thinking. All around her she could pick up small groups of friends complaining about the heat of Vale, or one or two childhood sweethearts whispering to each other in how Beacon was far bigger than they had anticipated. Then came the whispers of 'this day just can't get any worse', and she turned her head from staring at the front of the auditorium in which their welcoming speech was to be given to look at the boy.

He was thin, lanky with barely any form of muscle on his body and a thin sheen of sweat coating his forehead and neck, indicating that the sun was getting to him. His hair was blonde, bright and rather scraggly, but clung to his head- most likely due to the heat and his lack of tolerance for it. Her, being from Haven, a place where heat was at least twice as scorching as this, barely began to feel it. Vale was a cool place to her- in the term of it being a place with breezes that swept past her every two minutes and a crisp scent of wildflowers and daises that she'd never had the pleasure of experiencing in Haven.

Oh she'd have loved to go to Mistral's Academy- rather uninspiringly named Haven Academy- but many small setbacks piled on top of one another and before she knew it Haven no longer became an option. So, she quite literally asked her mother which academy would suit her best, and five minutes after that conversation she was given a train ticket to Vale and told to meet someone by the name of 'Ruby Rose'. A family 'friend' her mother had called the girl- despite Arslan never actually meeting the girl before, and having no conscious memory of ever doing so. Her father, however, looked oddly quiet when his mother spoke of how 'polite' and 'nice' she was.

Little did either of the females know, Arslan's father had, when Ruby came around one day, pleaded with her not to steal anything. He could see it was killing her inside not to steal the large golden statue of a lion that sat in their living room but she'd managed.

She still stole his watch though, so at least she didn't walk out empty handed.

Sighing, Arslan was about to find a nice shaded spot to sleep in until the Headmaster came by- until she heard a commotion coming from the courtyard. Her curiosity was overwhelmed by her need for sleep, however, and she closed her eyes after finding that little shaded spot.

Unfortunately for her, the noise from the courtyard got louder and, with no other option, she sighed- leaning away from the wall, she turned her head to the noise and stalked out of the large room-hall she was supposed to get to in the first place.

After about a full minute of walking she'd come across a most peculiar sight- one Weiss Schnee, a figure many would have recognised from their sparklingly white- read: blinding white- hair and attitude that would put the taste of a raw lemon to shame. Arslan simply sighed once more- while not a lazy individual by nature, in fact far from it, she'd much rather to be indoors where she could catch some sleep before the speech her new headmaster was supposed to make.

That plan was shot when she saw the black turtleneck-wearing Ruby Rose of yore and yonder, and hurriedly sped over there. Her father said this girl was a girl that could make her stay possibly as easy as it could ever get, and while she'd rather things go her way naturally, sometimes a helping hand from an outside force could do wonders. Besides, her rather seemed to have mixed feelings of this Ruby character- a mix of trepidation relief, really. If she were to look further into it she'd notice the man she knew as her father felt a sense of worry overtake him when he realised just what _kind_ of person Ruby Rose was and what her everyday profession was.

Honestly, if Ruby could back everything up, she'd say it was his fault for not noticing that stealing his watch gave sense of a professional thief.

"-Dust!? You know, _lightning_ , _ice_ , _energy_!?" In response to the conversation she'd just started listening in to, Arslan shook her head slightly to get rid of the annoying echo of the Schnee's voice- Read: Banshee-like screech- from her head. "Do you know _anything_?"

Then, her target decided to open her mouth after about two minutes of this, and crumble the entire Schnee's world around her with nought but a few words. In hindsight, Ruby had dealt with many professional thieves, crooked cops and more in her life she talking down to a Schnee wasn't even an accomplishment in her eyes- more of a…thing on her 'list of things to do before I'm old, grey, and a boring old codger'. Talking down to a Schnee was just behind, on her 'list', stealing from Vale's most tightly secured bank and explaining herself to Blake, hopefully making up in the process.

"I know you're truly, irrevocably, undoubtedly…the biggest bitch in all the land- way to go, princess." Ruby, seeing her words had profound effects on the way the human- or at least a Schnee's- brain worked, decided to speak down to people all the more often. If it shuts them up and provides her with the necessary peace and quiet, who was she to be nice when she could just do this and gain her wonderful silence?

A voice from behind her, startling Arslan and making Ruby's eyes go wide, cut in with the elegance it contained within the rather feline tone it had. It sent shivers of nostalgia down Ruby's back and made her neck hair stand on end. The voice made her mouth go numb and hands shake, tongue tie itself in knots upon knots.

"it's _heiress_ , actually."

Ruby wasn't too sure what happened exactly because her mind had shut down at that point- Ozpin had promised her a steady flow of info on Blake's whereabouts, she wasn't told the feline Faunus was _in Beacon_! She'd been duped, played for a fool, taken advantage of in the worst way- to her- imaginable. She'd been, a professional liar like her, lied to by a professor at some two-bit Academy! Un-fucking-believable. Oh he'd get his, him and that slutty Harry Potter witch wannabe secretary of his. Ironwood too- Ruby had no idea how, but she _knew_ the General of Atlas' military was part of this.

Plotting revenge later, Ruby spun on her heel to find Blake, the girl she'd hoped that voice did _actually_ belong to, mirroring her facial expression of shock, glee and wonder.

"Ruby?"

"…Kitten?"

Where was Arslan?

She'd slunk off to a corner to sleep and leave them to their privacy- she rather liked the idea of finding Ruby later anyway, made things a little more fun than they had any right to be.

(^^^^^^)

 **Sorry it's a short chapter, but that's because this chapter is mainly a massive plot device. You might have a few ideas on what's going to happen, especially with the Fox incident, but I can tell you now that whatever it is you're all thinking…is probably right! Still! Let me know what you think!**

 **Also, a recently made friend of mine, Erika The Witch, is in a bit of a rut with her stories right now. Please go and read them, give good comments! Oh, and, uh…she doesn't know I asked ya'll. Don't nobody go telling her, ya hear!?**

 **Lastly, I'm gonna be writing a lot of one-shots because I got so many ideas flowing in and out that I can't get rid of them without effectively making myself braindead.**

 **See ya'll.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Read the bottom A/N, please.**

(^^^^^^)

Ruby had done the impossible. To all who knew her she would be praised as a hero, a slayer of the impossible, a conqueror of despair. She would hear her tale sung within taverns and bars for years to come, innkeepers whispering her name in reverie and prayer. Ruby would never hear the end of her epic, the bards whistling tunes of her tale to travellers and the Kingdoms of Remnant themselves using her as an example. She'd be godly, revered by all.

She'd made up with Blake.

Now, when Yang came across the two five minutes later the expression 'thick as thieves' came to mind; she had no idea how ironic she'd just been. Then again suspicion sprouted to the forefront of her mind, clouding all judgement of what she'd seen Blake as two minutes ago- not five, because back them she'd formed the basis that the two never knew each other.

But seeing them now…it was like two sisters that had been separated were meeting up again. They were, as she'd usually say, 'buddy-buddy' with each other. Ruby was not one to get attached easily, but then again neither was she. Living on the streets gave a sense of wariness; who would stab you in the back and who would mug you? Who would rape you and who would kill you? Who to trust and who not to? Ruby, to that last one, would say everyone- because Ruby had never let herself trust, and Yang had the sneaking thought that the lack of trust in others extended to herself. Then again they were sisters, born in homes of love and raised by the streets.

Once, Ruby had told her "the streets show us more than any Hunting academy ever could; because unlike Hunters and Huntresses the streets teach you to survive, not save". That had stuck with her- along with the question of when her sister became so sagely- and not only moulded her, but shaped her very soul into what it was today. Those words acted as her code; as a reminder that the streets were essentially her parents, alleys and 'shortcuts' her extended family.

Then again she wasn't as pessimistic as Ruby was. No, Yang was an optimist, born and bred, and never once declared herself an orphan- mostly because the little child she used to be resided in her head still and whispered hopeful words of them finding a family to live with, or her old one being alive and well and looking for her. No, she wasn't like Ruby- night and day, sun and moon, whatever analogy you use, they were different.

For example, Ruby was a good liar, whereas Yang wore her heart on her sleeve; both of them, actually, though that heart was protected by four-inch-thick steel gauntlets that transformed into shotguns, so…yeah. Ruby was also a little more agile than a girl her age should be, especially one that worked as a waitress or a bartender or whatever it was she'd said her day job was. Now, to notice this was actually a stroke of luck and circumstance for her, for her lilac eyes had truly been opened that day.

It was a day that her memory refused to let her forget, no matter how much alcohol she consumed- of which she quickly stopped consuming, it made her do _really_ weird things. Ruby was sitting on a ragged, worn, ripped cloth seat that had been in their shared home since they got there. The padding beneath it could be seen, the razor-sharp springs that jutted out from the sides along with the varnished and chipped wood that lay beneath were visible…and yet Ruby still sat there. Her hand was limp, lying to her side over the edge of the chair's arm rest; her knuckles white from- most likely- being clutched into a fist for so long. Nightmares always claimed them both, of what they'd seen on the streets and of what they'd heard at night, along with the growing number of Grimm, usually the factor. So long stood there was she that Yang didn't notice her grip on the glass of water that she was holding falter.

But she did notice Ruby. Ruby displayed unnatural reflexes that day that made Yang doubt everything she's been told- no one could catch a cup from half way across the room, while barely waking up; to her it seemed reflexive.

Sighing, she turned her head to Ozpin, the man who, for all intents and purposes, deserved the most attention she could muster. What he said in this school went treated the same as the law did, what he spoke _was_ law.

Sure, this was _just_ an introduction, but then again not all introductions are unimportant and meaningless.

Five minutes later she'd realise how wrong she was, and the next day she'd sit there contemplating everything she thought she knew while idly watching an orange haired girl pestering some poor boy. She wouldn't pity him though- because as much as she wished her sister was like that, she liked her private moments and this girl didn't seem to comprehend the meaning of the word.

Comprehend? Since when did Yang Xiao-Long say 'Comprehend'? _'hanging around Rubes too much'_ , was the initial thought, and she walked off more confused than she was this morning.

(^^^^^^)

Ren and Nora were two seemingly normal people. Two seemingly normal- yet obviously close- friends that had known each other since childhood; though they weren't as storied as actual brother and sister, the time spent together was close to their entire lifespans. Yes, they were close, as close as relatives; but any implications that they were closer would be denied heavily by one Nora Valkyrie with many statements of 'being together but not together-together'.

Of course when Nora was of a young age her parents died, as did Ren's about a year after her own- he was in a bad place. Nora was in a worse one, however. Shortly after her parents died to Grimm attacks she found herself wandering through the wilderness, pickpocketing travellers and stealing food from wanderers just to make it to the next town, repeating the process. Ratty clothing one size too small for her already small and thin body, with green eyes dulled from her experiences. When the Grimm attacked Kuroyuri things took an uplifting turn to say the least. Odd how Nora's major turning point in life was during the attack that saw hundreds, if not in the low thousands, of innocent people killed.

She also saw Ren- well, more like she was crying under a low wooden building while _Ren_ found _her_.

Details. But she'd never deny that Ren was the bravest and strongest child she'd ever seen- and most likely ever will see. Then again as a child, Ren used to be quite expressive; but if you saw him now you'd never see what he used to be like; he was stoic, quiet, let his friend do the talking. He used to be shy and brave, but kind with expressions beyond the standard he wore today.

Right now? Right now this previously expressive boy was waking up…to a pair of green eyes and blindingly bright orange hair. There were periods in his life when he wondered if the hair was natural or not, though when he'd asked she'd just looked away and ignored it completely. He'd never spotted any dyeing products however, so he was sure it was- as odd as it sounded- natural. Then again he can't really call her hair odd, seeing as the entire Schnee family line held white hair within their blood somewhere.

Spotting the odd magenta hair that coloured the left-most bang that dangled to the side of his head, he sighed. His hair was never natural either.

Turning his head left after about five minutes of stewing in thought and- admittedly- ignoring Nora, Ren noticed that he may not be the only one with weird coloured hair. Hair a two-toned colour of red and black, along with a girl with admittedly the largest pair of breasts he'd ever witnessed, blindingly bright gold hair and a pair of lilac eyes looking confused. A girl with hair blacker than a Grimm and a bow that he _swore_ twitched every so often. Thankfully he'd fit in here, so there was always that as a bright side to his day.

While tucking his guns into his sleeves, he noticed Nora was still talking. And while he loved her like a sister, the girl was damn persistent in having plans related to sloths in everything they did. Colour coding clothing as to know who's was who's? sloths. Pancake shapes? Sloths. Destinations? Sloths.

So, deciding to end this debacle before it escalated and his fragile mind could take no more, Ren shushed Nora. "Nora; I don't think sloths make much noise."

He'd heard about a quarter of the conversation- one sided, naturally- that she'd had with him, and while he did hear snippets what he paid attention to were…things that bordered on illegal. They most definitely were _not_ going to bribe the headmaster.

He'd heard a full two seconds of silence before it was ruined. "That's why it's perfect!"

Rolling his eyes and sighing in despair, Ren led a rather cheery Nora to the cliff on which their initiation was to be held.

(^^^^^^)

 **Rather short for how long I've been away but nevertheless here is the next chapter.**

 **Now, unfortunately I have bad news for you all.**

 **I'm not gonna write RWBY fictions anymore; this is gonna be the last one I write. I know I know, but think- the direction it's going in is just painful right now, and you can't give an author shit and tell him it's bread.**

 **In short: RWBY isn't what it used to be, and I can't think of any ways to create a fiction based around what I've been given.**

 **You can think of this chapter as the last one for any RWBY story I'll be writing, or at least the last for any story that isn't a complete AU. please, understand that this hurts, but since Monty's passing- bless his soul- I feel like Rooster Teeth forgot what made his show great. It was original, it was unique, and it was headed somewhere great. Now...now it's not even headed in the same direction anymore.**

 **I love Rooster Teeth with everything I have, and I hope to one day work for them- or with them, at least. And while ambitious my goals are still goals, and I hope to achieve them. I just...I can't agree with the direction it's headed anymore, is all. I won't slander it- it's still up there with the greats of westernised Anime (whether you want it to be true or not, that's what it is).**

 **so, again, an apology from me to you all is in order.**

 **I. Am. Sorry. But I'm not gonna drop writing due to this setback, no. Instead I will carry on, and follow Monty's words to the letter, as I have been doing for most of my life- or, at least, since he said those words.**

(^^^^^^)

 _ **"If you endeavour to achieve, it will happen given enough resolve. it may not be immediate, and often your greater dreams are something you will not achieve within your own lifetime. The effort you put forth to anything transcends yourself, for there is no futility even in death."**_

 _ **\- Monty Oum -**_


End file.
